A broken device is not always entirely broken or: What happens when you take something apart?

I’m going to start this post out by saying that Stephen was one of the most interesting visitors I’ve ever met at the Museum. He literally spent the entire day tinkering with things in the MakeShop. He spent some time with his dad playing around with our circuit blocks. He seemed incredibly enthusiastic about everything in the space. His excitement seemed to escalate when I told him that we had some broken laptops that needed to be taken apart. Stephen’s day would become dedicated to taking these things apart in their entirety.

His dad was completely content with letting his son have fun in his own way. They didn’t need to visit every area of the Museum.

Taking Things Apart:

It was really interesting for both of us to see what was inside of the things and devices that we were taking apart. We discovered all kinds of components in the laptops; speakers, switches, etc. It was Stephen’s idea to test these components out to see what worked and what didn’t. So we tested stuff using the simple batteries. We found that some of the things worked and others didn’t. This gave us a better understanding of the way things operate.

It was also Stephen’s idea to use the working components to create new circuit blocks for our electricity exploration table. He wanted to share his findings with other visitors by providing something new for them to explore. He inspired me to do the very same thing with other visitors and staff. Stephen’s excitement about taking things apart and seeing what’s inside heightened other people’s excitement. It was very contageous. He spent the rest of the day taching other visitors about electricity using the curcuit blocks that he created.

By and by, Stephen left the Museum with a sense of accomplishment. Again, he also heightened my understanding of what it really means to take something apart.

I would like to thank Stephen for spending the day in the Shop and for contributing so much.